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03/14/2010 - Fort Myers, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston Red Sox prospect Ryan Westmoreland is scheduled to have brain surgery Tuesday after being diagnosed with a cavernous malformation in his brain, the team announced Saturday.
Westmoreland, 19, was diagnosed after leaving minor league spring training earlier this month. Following consultations with a number of experts, he will have the procedure done by Dr. Robert Spetzler of the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix.
The Red Sox took Westmoreland in the fifth round of the 2008 draft.
<< Nadal, Djokovic move on at BNP Paribas Open
Indian Wells, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic were
both second-round winners Saturday at the $4.5 million BNP Paribas Open, an
ATP World Tour Masters event.
Nadal, the reigning titlist and third seed, ea
<< Report: Jets head coach Ryan undergoes lap-band surgery
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan reportedly
underwent a procedure Saturday at NYU Medical Center to help him battle his
obesity.
According to the New York Daily News, Ryan was released following the sur
<< Curry and Ellis lift Warriors over spiraling Raptors
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie Stephen Curry finished with 35 points
and Monta Ellis had 31, as the guards helped the Golden State Warriors end a
six-game slide with a 124-112 win over the Toronto Raptors.
Curry, who was one po
<< Canucks rip Senators in return home
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mikael Samuelsson scored twice, as the
Vancouver Canucks returned home to GM Place with a 5-1 win over the Ottawa
Senators.
The Canucks were forced to play 14 straight games on the road, spannin
Taiwan's Tseng wins Women's Australian Open >>
Melbourne, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Taiwan's Yani Tseng fired a flawless
seven-under 66 on Sunday to capture the Women's Australian Open.
The two-time LPGA Tour winner finished four rounds on the Commonwealth course
at nine-under 283
Capitals visit Blackhawks in clash of NHL powerhouses >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Capitals and Blackhawks could very well meet this year
in the Stanley Cup Finals, but neither probably feels like a championship-
caliber club right now.
Both Washington and Chicago will try to bounce back from disappo
Predators aim to extend series win streak over Kings >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There is a chance that the Predators could visit the Kings
in the postseason's opening round depending on how the Western Conference
shakes down. Los Angeles would prefer that didn't happen.
Currently seeded seventh in the
Avalanche attempt to win season series versus Stars >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Avalanche will try to win their first season
series with the Dallas Stars in five campaigns as the two clubs meet for the
fourth and final time in the regular season this afternoon at American
Airlines Center.
In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.
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